Marvel Rivals Dev Says They're Not Trolling Dataminers - 'We'd Rather Spend Our Time Developing the Game'

Marvel Rivals developers address datamining rumors: No intentional trolling, just a lot of ideas.

Dataminers recently unearthed a trove of potential future characters hidden within Marvel Rivals' code. While some initial finds, like the Fantastic Four, proved accurate, the sheer volume of names sparked speculation: were some deliberately planted as red herrings?

The community remains divided on the authenticity of the datamined roster. To address these concerns directly, we spoke with Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo. While denying any intentional misleading, they acknowledged the presence of unused character data in the game's code.

Wu explained that the extensive character design process involves numerous concepts, prototypes, and trials, leaving remnants in the code. The inclusion of a character in future updates depends heavily on player feedback and desired gameplay experiences. Koo likened the situation to finding a discarded notebook filled with brainstorming notes – a wealth of ideas, some pursued, others not. He emphatically stated, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."

The character selection process, they revealed, involves a year-long planning horizon. Maintaining a bi-monthly character release schedule requires careful balancing. NetEase prioritizes roster diversity and gameplay equilibrium, opting to introduce new characters rather than extensively tweaking existing ones. This strategy allows them to address weaknesses, counter overpowered characters, and introduce fresh gameplay experiences.

NetEase proposes potential additions to Marvel Games, considering community enthusiasm and aligning with upcoming Marvel film and comic releases. This explains the extensive list of characters found in the code – a reflection of NetEase's ongoing brainstorming and exploration.

Marvel Rivals continues to impress, with the Human Torch and The Thing slated for release on February 21st. The conversation also touched upon the possibility of a Nintendo Switch 2 port, details of which can be found in a separate article.